APPLICATIONS OF MTT ASSAY TO PRIMARY CULTURED RAT HEPATOCYTES

We investigated the optimal conditions for the application of the MTT assay to determine the viability of cell in primary cultures of rat he patocytes. The optimal conditions were found to be: inoculation at cel l density of 1.31x10(5) cells/cm(2) concentration of 4,5-dimethylthiaz oyl-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) 0.12 mM; and MTT incor poration time, 2 h or more. We also found that insulin and glucocortic oid, which are usually added to the medium to maintain cell function, had no effect on the viability of the primary cultures of rat hepatocy tes.